As I walked down to my billet that night I was swaying, as I went, from sheer exhaustion; I tried to recall when it was that I had a night’s sleep. It seemed months, yet it was but a few days. My billet was upstairs in a house that had not been struck by enemy fire.
George met me at the door and told me to go to my room, that he would bring my dinner. I stumbled upstairs, for I was weak with hunger and fatigue. I sat in a chair and was almost falling asleep when George came in with a large granite plate filled with roast beef, mashed potatoes and green peas. He had kept it hot for me. I picked up the knife and fork and they seemed heavy. George began to arrange my bed. New strength came as I ate the excellent food—we were always well fed before a battle; in fact, the men could always foretell a battle by the quantities of strawberry jam they received two or three days preceding action. I had not finished the meat and vegetables when the cook himself came up with some strawberry jam, little cakes and a huge granite mug of hot cocoa. When I had finished the cocoa, I can just remember George saying: “Hadn’t you better take off your boots, sir?” And the next thing I knew it was broad daylight, and as I looked at my wrist-watch the hands pointed to half-past ten a. m. I had slept about ten and one-half hours.
I had learned the preceding night that the battle would not begin till very early in the morning of August 8th. It had taken, I supposed, the whole night for the troops to assemble. Very likely they would sleep or rest today. There was no need for me to go up till evening.
I looked about the room. The dinner dishes had been removed and so had my boots, but with the exception of boots and leggings I was completely dressed. It did not take me very long to put on my boots and shave, yet it was twelve o’clock when I came out of the church of Boves after I had said Mass.
That evening, August 7th, I went up to Gentelles Wood.
Chapter LXXIX
The Battle of Amiens
It was a wonderful sight that met the eye as George and I left Boves that evening and turned our steps towards the battle-ground. The artillery had assembled, and on all sides were great guns in cuttings of embankments or hidden in woods, or camouflaged in the open. At times the roads were blocked with the heavy lines of traffic, but as we drew nearer the line the movement was not so great; yet coming through fields and woods were the huge, clanking tanks. There must have been at least one hundred of them careening along up hill and down dale. Nothing seemed to be able to stop their unwieldly bulk. I learned afterwards that great bombing planes had swooped low over Fritz’s trenches, making a great noise so as to deaden the sounds of the assembling tanks.
I did not sleep at all that night. Indeed, very few slept, for during the night the troops were taking their place for the assault and it was not till 2:10 a. m. that the assembly was complete.
At 4:10 a. m., August 8th, a terrific crash of heavy and light guns broke the silence of the dawn on a twenty-mile front. I had never before been in a great battle and was not prepared for action on such a stupendous scale. The earth seemed to be rocking. The full-leaved tree-tops of Gentelles Wood behind us twisted and broke, as shells from our back areas shrieked their way towards Fritz’s line.
I stood for awhile waiting for Fritz’s “come back,” but the Germans had been so completely surprised by the unexpected bombardment that their artillery gave but a very faint-hearted reply. On seeing this we felt that victory was assured. I did not have long to watch the tide of battle, for presently a long line of stretcher-bearers, their burdens raised shoulder high, told me my work was to begin.